Shenmue 3 suffers another delay to the surprise of no one

Today publisher Deep Silver and developer Ys Net made an announcement to confirm that the expected 2018 release window is no more. "The extra time will be used to polish the quality of the game even further, to the high standards it deserves and release the product in the best possible timeframe". For an audience of fans who have already waited since 2001 for a sequel, another year may sting, but it's a longing pain they're accustomed to.

Announced today, Shenmue III will be caught up in the winds of Kickstarter, as it has been delayed to 2019.

Shenmue 3, as you might recall, started off as a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign back during E3 2015 and while the prospect of a threequel for Yu Suzuki's beloved series is exciting, there's no denying that Kickstarter projects often leave participants with broken dreams and lighter wallets. "We promise to use this time to improve the quality of Shenmue III". That's where Deep Silver has stepped in to publish and provide support. Shadow of the Tomb Raidercost between $75 million and $100 million to develop, according to Eidos Montreal head David Anfossi. To be honest, if it means a better game at launch, we're all for it. It was originally supposed to come out in December 2017.

This is a bit of a setback considering that the game has been in and out of development over the last decade.

There are many constants in the world of videogames and one such constant is that Shenmue 3 will only ever be as real as its delays.